Method and apparatus for decoding a received set of encoded data

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2021084317-A1
Application number	US-201816954050-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Dec 6, 2018
Priority date	Dec 6, 2017
Publication date	Mar 18, 2021
Grant date	—

Abstract

A method of decoding a received set of encoded data representing information that has been compressed, wherein the encoded data set is divided into a hierarchy of subsets, is provided. The method comprises: obtaining, from at least one first subset, a respective set of offset values; and decoding a plurality of second subsets, each comprising a data structure of metadata and data, to derive a series of data values, wherein each second subset corresponds to a region of the information that has been compressed. Each offset value is associated with a second subset and indicates a relative position within the encoded data set that corresponds to the earliest element of the associated second subset with respect to the position within the encoded data set that corresponds to an element of another subset of the hierarchy of subsets. The decoding the plurality of second subsets includes identifying for each second subset, based on the set of offset values, the position within the encoded data that corresponds to the earliest element of the second subset. The method further comprises reconstructing the information that has been compressed from the data values.

First claim

1 . A method of decoding a received set of encoded data representing information that has been compressed, wherein the encoded data set is divided into a hierarchy of subsets, the method comprising:
obtaining, from at least one first subset, a respective set of offset values; decoding a plurality of second subsets, each comprising a data structure of metadata and data, to derive a series of data values, wherein each second subset corresponds to a region of the information that has been compressed, wherein each offset value is associated with a second subset and indicates a relative position within the encoded data set that corresponds to the earliest element of the associated second subset with respect to the position within the encoded data set that corresponds to an element of another subset of the hierarchy of subsets, and wherein the decoding the plurality of second subsets includes identifying for each second subset, based on the set of offset values, the position within the encoded data that corresponds to the earliest element of the second subset; and reconstructing the information that has been compressed from the data values.

2 . A method according to claim 1 , wherein the relative position indicated by each offset value corresponds to the earliest element of the associated second subset with respect to the position within the encoded data set that corresponds to the earliest element of the other subset.

3 . A method according to claim 1 or claim 2 , wherein an offset value indicates said relative position by way of comprising a value representing a difference between:
a value indicating a relative position within the encoded data set that corresponds to the earliest element of the associated second subset with respect to the position within the encoded data set that corresponds to the earliest element of said other subset, and
a value indicating a relative position within the encoded data set that corresponds to the earliest element of said other subset with respect to the position within the encoded data set that corresponds to the earliest element of a further subset.

4 . A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the identifying the position of a second subset comprises calculating the position as a sum of obtained offset values.

5 . A method according to claim 4 , wherein the obtained offset values are arranged as a series, and wherein the identifying the position of a second subset comprises calculating a sum of the offset values in the series preceding and including an offset value associated with the second subset.

6 . A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein decoding two or more of the plurality of second subsets is performed in parallel in accordance with the identified positions.

7 . A method according to claim 6 , wherein the decoding in parallel is performed by way of locating the first element of each of the plurality of second subsets prior to the decoding of a first of the plurality being completed.

8 . A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein obtaining the set of offset values comprises deriving from the first subset a set of metadata comprising the set of offset values.

9 . A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein if a first subset contains information indicating a relative position within the encoded data set that corresponds to the earliest element of a second subset with respect to the position within the encoded data set that corresponds to the latest element of that first subset,
the obtaining an offset value from said information is performed in accordance with a predetermined value indicating a relative position that corresponds to the earliest element of said first subset with respect to the position that corresponds to said latest element of said first subset.

10 . A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein decoding two or more of the plurality of second subsets is performed sequentially, and wherein a first one of the set of offset values that corresponds to a first one of said two or more second subsets that is to be decoded earlier than a second one of said two or more second subsets is lower than a second one of the set of offset values that corresponds to the second one of said two or more second subsets.

11 . A method according to any of the preceding claims, further comprising decoding the at least one first subset to derive a series of data values, wherein each first subset corresponds to a region of the information that has been compressed.

12 . A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the hierarchy is partially ordered.

13 . A method according to any of the preceding claims, comprising, if an offset value indicates a difference of zero between the position within the encoded data set that corresponds to the earliest element of an associated second subset and the position within the encoded data set that corresponds to the earliest element of another subset, determining that the associated second subset does not exist in the set.

14 . A method according to any of claims 1 to 12 , comprising, if an offset value indicates a difference of zero between the position within the encoded data set that corresponds to the earliest element of an associated second subset and the position within the encoded data set that corresponds to the earliest element of another subset, determining that the associated second subset is a duplicate of the other subset.

15 . A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the information that has been compressed is split into a plurality of blocks of data elements, and wherein each second subset corresponds to a region of the information that has been compressed in that it represents one or more of said blocks.

16 . A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the encoded data set includes one or more data elements that are not comprised by a subset and are situated between a position that corresponds to the earliest element of a subset and a position that corresponds to the earliest element of another subset.

17 . A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein at least two of the subsets are adjacent in the encoded data set such that no data elements are situated between them.

18 . A method according to any of the preceding claims, further comprising:
decoding a plurality of third subsets, each comprising a data structure of metadata and data, to derive a series of data values, wherein each third subset corresponds to a region of the information that has been compressed, wherein an offset value indicates a relative position within the encoded data set that corresponds to the earliest element of an associated third subset with respect to the position within the encoded data set that corresponds to the earliest element of another subset, and wherein the decoding the plurality of third subsets includes identifying for each third subset, based on the set of offset values, the position within the encoded data that corresponds to the earliest element of the third subset; and reconstructing the information that has been compressed from the data values.

19 . A method according to claim 18 , wherein the identifying the position of a third subset comprises calculating the position as a sum of offset values obtained from the at least one first subset and, where the method further comprises obtaining a respective set of offset values from at least one of the second subsets, of offset values obtained from said at least one second

Assignees

• V Nova Int Ltd

Inventors

• Makeev Ivan
• Keszthelyi Balázs
• Poularakis Stergios
• Sanna Michele
• Ettinger Robert

Classifications

• H04N19/96

  Tree coding, e.g. quad-tree coding · CPC title

• H04N19/176

  the region being a block, e.g. a macroblock · CPC title

• H04N19/119 Primary

  Adaptive subdivision aspects, e.g. subdivision of a picture into rectangular or non-rectangular coding blocks · CPC title

• H04N19/182

  the unit being a pixel · CPC title

• H04N19/91

  Entropy coding, e.g. variable length coding [VLC] or arithmetic coding · CPC title